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Germany ready to lend diplomatic hand at potential Istanbul talks — government

Stefan Kornelius warned that if the parties fail to reach a ceasefire, it will be up to Kiev to decide whether to come to the negotiating table in Istanbul

BERLIN, May 12. /TASS/. Germany’s government is willing to offer its help at the potential talks on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in Istanbul on May 15, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said.

"The German government is ready to be present [in Istanbul]. Currently, this option is being looked at. Fundamentally, these talks would be between Russia and Ukraine. But, anyway, we, as European partners, are offering our help," he said.

At the same time, he warned that if the parties fail to reach a ceasefire, it will be up to Kiev to decide whether to come to the negotiating table in Istanbul. "We have Russia’s clearly-worded proposal on talks with Ukraine. Ukraine must make a decision on whether to accept this proposal in its present form," he added.

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin early on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume the direct talks they broke off in 2022 without any preliminary conditions. He proposed to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. The Russian leader recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.